


Glimpse of the Gem ‘Afterlife’: ‘Restless Limbo’

by needforsuv



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Afterlife, Canon Temporary Character Death, Canonical Character Death, Closure, Emotional Hurt, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, It doesn’t matter if it’s Steven or Stevonnie that’s mentioned, I’m counting poofing as death in the context of these tags and spoilers here so don’t sue me, Jasper goes through the wringer (literally), Limbo, Other, POV Jasper, Past Character Death, Rose can see everything and she has feels, Spoilers, Spoilers for Episode: s06e16 Fragments, Talking, Talking To Dead People, Temporary Character Death, she was definitely very scared (that’s all I’ll say), the story works either way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:00:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23263624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/needforsuv/pseuds/needforsuv
Summary: Jasper, immediately beforethathappens and afterwards, from her point of view.She had thought that venting might’ve been good idea for them and their powers, but now she definitely doesn’t, not after what just happened…OR: Jasper takes an unexpected break from things and finds herself with the last (or possibly first) person she thought she’d see…
Relationships: Jasper & Pink Diamond (Steven Universe), Jasper & Rose Quartz (Steven Universe), Jasper & Steven Universe, Rose Quartz | Pink Diamond & Steven Universe
Kudos: 34





	Glimpse of the Gem ‘Afterlife’: ‘Restless Limbo’

**Author's Note:**

> When you have gone through as much as she has… it really changes your view on things…

When they had mentioned their problems about controlling their _diamond_ powers, Jasper hadn’t thought much of it. Like all their powers, it was driven by emotion, but unlike all their other ones so far… these were ‘new’, known only perhaps to _her_ former pearl (Pink Pearl/ _Volley_ ball) and fellow diamonds.

But it’s not like Jasper hadn’t faced the unknown before, what with corruption, all that _before_ , and the revelations…

Jasper supposed, _Rose_ ’s child, given their kind and loving nature, probably never really vented in much of any way before. They weren’t in a populated area, and they could always heal the ecosystem and fix the rocks after… She could handle herself, right?

(Jasper was wrong, very wrong…)

She had thought that venting might’ve been good idea for them and their powers, but now she definitely doesn’t, not after what just happened today, after 3 days of training…

Turns out, these diamond powers and emotional hiccups were the furthest from benefiting from a single-tack solution… (She probably already knew that…)

The moment the 3rd and 4th ‘walls’ became pinned against her, Jasper’s heart sank – she lost, badly; it was only a matter of _when_ and what’d happen.

Up until now, she had maintained a look of fearlessness in the face of these powers, but now with them free from their shackles… Jasper was scared, very scared.

She couldn’t escape, and they were aiming their attack right at her head – the only exposed part of her body besides her arms and…

Corruption was agony, only soothed by the retreat of her form into her gem and a bubble; stars know how bad this would be…

(Their words dug trenches in her outlook.) _“You’re right, Jasper, I_ have _been holding back!”_

Of cause they had, they’d lifted the colossal injector with a gem on the fritz, held their own against the other diamonds… held the power to revive and create new life – life and death, chaos and peace… love…

The glowing pinkness, the look in their eyes – _Diamond_ pupils –, their laughter… It was something Jasper hoped no one had or would ever see/experience again, certainly not in this context.

Hexagons grew into a wide honeycomb _plow_ , spikes forming… Nothing could stand up to this, not her, not Obsidian, not even another diamond.

The moment before impact, Jasper’s mind finally allowed her to gasp and register a look of shocked fear.

It could’ve all gone so much better, but it’s far too late now…

Their ‘shield’ ~~crashed~~ shot into and through her gem and form with unimaginable force and pain, splintering and fragmenting it into many pieces. (If she had known…)

Her mind was in pieces as her body vanished – shattered, by the one and only…

Not there tears fell like rivers from the eyes of her shattered ‘ghost’ as the moment replayed in her mind in staccato. At the same time, she saw their pinkness subside, recoiling at what had just happened, what they had just done…

“JASPER!!!” They ~~shouted~~ cried as they rushed to the massive _crater_ , tears mixing with the rain, “Oh, No, no, NO! What have I done!?”

Corruption was one thing, being shattered was another… there had literally been _nothing_ close to coming back from this _ever_ … they were about to find out and Jasper hoped it would be nothing short of a miracle.

“I-I’m so s-sorry Jasper, I-I… you should’ve… The essence, it has to work, it healed the corrupted gems… i-it’s used to create new ones…” They mumbled to themself as Jasper felt all her pieces being gathered up, no doubt made easier by the contrast of amber on cleared earth…

“I’ll get you back, you’ll be fine… it’ll be fine… it has to be! I’ll find a way…”

Jasper felt her fragmented ~~mind~~ consciousness drift further away as they ran through the forest, holding her _shards_ close in their hands…

What she hadn’t (or perhaps had) expected, was seeing – feeling – more pink…

No, it wasn’t from them; her mind was far from that, fuzzy by virtue of being _in pieces_.

“No… no, no, no… that can’t be real! It can’t be! T-they…”

Jasper approached the weeping voice in the distance – or perhaps more accurately, their spirits mutually drifted together.

It was _Rose_ , in her Crystal Gem outfit, bawling her eyes out as she ~~flushed~~ glowed faintly pink.

“Rose…” Jasper said, putting her (glitching? – she didn’t really know?) arm? on her shoulder, “I’m afraid it’s real…”

“Oh…” Rose grasped, expression falling even further (if that were possible) as she turned to address Jasper, “It’s you…”

“I messed up, perhaps even more than you did,” She chuckled shallowly before dropping it, tears continuing to fall, “I was so scared Rose; I am still scared…”

“Nothing ever prepares you for this, does it?”

“Yeah…”

Once upon a time, Jasper had been prepared to perish in the face of battle in the name of the authority. She had corrupted herself in a vain attempt to ‘avenge’ her fallen diamond, found out _Pink_ and _Rose_ were both the same gem… the gem that her child now possessed… They had healed her, gave her a new outlook on life… (That apparently wasn’t quite there yet…)

She knew diamonds were strong, but that hadn’t fazed her; hadn’t known the true extent of the potential for things to get _way_ out of hand…

“This was why you tried so hard to change, wasn’t it? To make sure it never happened to anyone _ever_.”

“It’s… a part of it… I also just,” Rose wrapped her arms around Jasper (she fell contently into the hug), “It felt terrible, _doing_ , causing bad … but doing good…”

“Fills your heart with joy, I know,” Jasper smiled briefly, “I’ve almost felt it then, before…”

“You thought it’d help, but it really didn’t.”

“Not at all, at least not that much of it… everything’s about balance, isn’t it – well, apart from love and stuff like that, which you probably can’t have too much of…”

“Is there anything you’d like to ask me Jasper, now that you know everything and are here?”

Heh, she has a lot of those, but… she felt a lot of those weren’t important right now.

“Just the one,” Jasper replied, “Do you regret it, giving up your form?”

“No, not at all,” Her answer was as resolute as it could be, “But in light of their life and everything so far, I do regret not having left things in a better state…”

“Same…”

“But you’ve got a chance, Jasper, they love you! They aren’t just going to let you crumble into nothing! You’ve seen what they can do with their powers…”

“Probably more than anyone ever should in this case, but yeah…”

“Now it’s my turn to ask you a question, Jasper.”

“Go ahead; I think they’re still just into Beach City.” Jasper didn’t know if time worked differently _here_ , or if it was just her own psyche in its current state that had warped her perception of time.

Maybe this wasn’t even Rose she was talking to, but just _fragments_ of her broken mind’s imagination. Did it matter? No, not really, she’s gotten her closure.

“Are you happy Jasper, with being shattered like this?”

“No,” Her reply was equally resolute, “No at all, far from it… This is hell – or limbo for you, I guess… I wished I had done so much more, thought things through a bit more, and _love_ , loved everything even more…”

“Heh, don’t we all…”

“I forgive you, by the way, if that means anything to you.”

“It means a lot to me,” Rose smiled and ghost-kissed her on her forehead, making her blush slightly.

“Thanks for the talk, it’s been nice…”

“Same, same…”

They were on the beach now, and Jasper could feel the draw of the temple; there wasn’t much time before she would find out for sure – at least in the meantime –, whether essences and tears of sorrow and lost were enough to…

(There was no doubt that everyone would freak out _when_ they found out.)

_“Come on, where…” They mumbled to themself as they scrambled to dump all the diamonds’ essences into their bathtub._

“I know what I’ll say,” Jasper stated as she left Rose’s embrace, spirit drifting back towards her shattered gem, “And I hope it’ll be enough for them.”

“It will be,” Rose smiled as she waved and closed her eyes, unable to see the emotional moment of truth for herself.

“Okay… I hope this works,” They said as they pieced Jasper’s gem back together, holding it together as they dunked it into the water, “I’m so sorry Jasper, I-I didn’t know… you didn’t… I-you should…”

Tears flowed down their round, adorable face, creating more streaks where rain had done so moments before. (Tears met water and essence, mixing together in a swirl of pink, yellow, blue, and white – an otherwise lovely sight if not for the situation…)

Jasper felt her mind and gem twitch as light washed over them, fractures and fragments coming back together at the sub-atomic level – healing, if it could be called that.

Then, she felt light radiate out from her gem.

First, a mess of light, then a blob… basic body… limbs and features…

She didn’t exactly feel the same as _before_ , but that could wait for later… for now, she was just glad that as the light finally took its shape, she was finally whole again – a miracle that she hopes they’d never have to perform on anyone else…

The first thing Jasper noticed is just how teary their face is, stars… this was worse than Lars.

“I-I’m sorry Jasper,” They mumble in apology as Jasper steps out of the tub with a stoic expression, likely moved by events…

“I bow to your power, my diamond,” Jasper says? as she kneels? No, no, that wasn’t what she had meant to say!

As expected, their lips curl into a dejected frown, making Jasper feel even more terrible inside.

“I-I’m sorry,” Jasper ‘corrects’ as she hugs them. They hug back.

“I’m sorry I… what happened… _shouldn’t_ …”

“It’s okay Jasper, y-you’re fine now, right?” They cooed, giving a quick kiss to her gem for good measure.

“Yeah, I think so,” She replies as she slowly moves towards the mirror, “And forget that I said that, I-I just wasn’t thinking straight- I knew what I wanted to say, but after you… I…”

Jasper _had_ messed up her ‘first impression’ as she reformed, but who wouldn’t be a little out of it after _that_?

Having your parts broken up and put back together would do that…

“My horn, it’s chipped, and my stripe, it’s… _different_?” Jasper remarked as her eyes adjusted to the dim light, “But I think I like it. Thanks.”

“Yeah…” They smiled, before their face fell at the realisation of having to break the news, “Fuck, how would I even tell them?!”

Before they could freak out again though, Jasper was quick to reassure them with a rub on the back.

“Don’t worry about it; I can start it for you.”

“Thanks Jasper,” They smiled as they took her hand and made their way towards the door.

No doubt, the gems will be waiting outside with lots of questions, but that’s ok – totally expected of anyone, even.

Whatever their reaction would be though, Jasper knows they’ll all be there to support them – once the shock wears off, it it’s that intense…

After all, she wasn’t really the one needing the support right now…

(She knows they’ll be fine; it’ll be fine…)

**Author's Note:**

> (This is just a one-off one-shot, probably…)
> 
> I wanted to get this out there, sorry if I made you cry even more… 
> 
> (More fluff will come later!)
> 
> PS: You cannot believe how hard it was not using names referring to them…


End file.
